Folding chair



Oct. 25, 1960 E, L, u sZ 2,957,516

' FOLDING CHAIR Filed July 5, 1957 INVEN TOR. EDMUND L.KUBISZ l4 BYmlvtl ATTORNEY United, States Patent FOLDING CHAIR EdmundrL. Kubisz,Chicago, Ill., assignor to American Machine and Foundry Company, acorporation of New Jersey 1 Filed July 5, 1957, SenNo. 670,014 1 Claim.(Cl.'155- -139) My invention relates to a light weight folding chair.

Chairs .of this type. are generally used outdoors and quite often arecarried about by hand and transported within automobile trunks. Theymust be strong, light in weight and take up very little room whenstored. While folding furniture of this type is generally not given muchcare, it must nevertheless remain sturdy and comparatively rigid whensupporting the weight of a person. Folding chairs manufactured in thepast, when subjected to the treatment mentioned, have had a tendency tosway. This is very undesirable because it can lead to accidentalcollapse.

It is one of the primary objects of this invention to provide a foldingchair that will not jackknife or tend to sway from side to side when inuse.

A further object is to provide a folding chair that is of a simplifiedlightweight construction having wrap-around links on both sides of theseat frame for gripping the rear legs to add rigidity to the chair whenin use.

A further object is to provide a folding chair with rear legs whosemidpoints have a bend to provide added strength when force is applied tothis portion of the rear legs.

Other objects and features of the invention will appear as thedescription of the particular physical embodiment selected to illustratethe invention progresses. In the accompanying drawings, which form apart of this specification, like characters of reference have beenapplied to corresponding parts throughout the several views which makeup the drawings.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of my improved folding chair.

Fig. 2 is a partial rear view of my folding chair showing wrap-aroundlinks in locked position.

Fig. 3 is a partial side view of my folding chair taken on line 2-2,showing the wrap-around links in locked position.

The framing members of my improved folding chair may all be made oftubular lightweight metal stock, except for the arm rests and thewrap-around leg links which may be made of any suitable flat materialsuch as sheet metal. The frame members may all be U-shaped and areeasily formed by bending machines. Seat and back panels may be made ofcloth or other suitable materials and may be easily attached to thesides of the U-shaped frames forming the seat and back respectively.

Referring to the drawings, the tubular chair frame components consist ofan inverted U-shaped back rest frame 10, a U-shaped seat frame 12, aU-shaped rear leg member 14, a pair of front legs 16, and a U-shapedlateral front leg support 18, and a pair of arm rests 22 formed fromflat metal stock. While I have shown the rear legs to consist of aU-shaped member, it will be appreciated that individual rear legs may beused having suitable bracing such as employed for the front legs.

The front legs 16 are maintained in a fixed position parallel to eachother by the U-shaped lateral front leg support frame 18. The U-shapedlateral support frame ice 18 is joined to the insides of each front leg16 by rivets 26 and pivot bolts 28 and lock nuts 30.

The front of the U-shaped seat frame 12 is pivotally joined to the upperend of the lateral front leg support frame 18 and the front legs 16 bybolts 28 and lock nuts 30.

The upper portions 32 of the U-shaped rear leg members 14 have a forwardbend at or near their respective midpoints and at their uppermostextremities are pivotally connected by suitable rivets or bolts 34 tothe vertical flanges at the forward end of'the arm rest 22. Theuppermost extremities 36 of the front legs 16 are likewise pivotallyconnected by rivets 38 to the same vertical flanges of the arm rests 22,immediately forward of and adjacent to the rear leg upper pivot points34.

The inverted U-shaped back rest support 10 has a rearward bend 40 at itsuppermost portion. The sides of said back rest support 10 are pivotallyconnected, at their lower ends to the rearward sides of the U-shapedseat frame 12, by a pair of pivot bolts 42 and lock nuts 44.

A pair of links having wrap-around extensions 24 are pivotally joined bythe bolts 42, which freely pass through holes formed near the ends ofsaid links 23 having said extensions 24, and are held securely underlock nuts 44. A suitable washer 43 is positioned between the rear seatframe 12 and the lower end of the back seat frame 10. The bolts 42 alsoextend through and join the rear sides of the seat frame 12, the lowerend of said back rest 10 and the washer 43 so as to pivotally join theseelements together. Said wrap-around links, having holes formed at theirlowest extremities, are pivotally joined by rivets 46 extending throughthose holes, to the vertical sides of the rear leg frame 14.

When viewed from the side, the arm rests 22 pivotally arranged to beparallel at all times, whether the chair is opened or folded, with thesidesof the seat frames 12 and the front legs 16 are always parallel tothe sides of the back rest 10 as in a parallelogram, that is pivotallyconnected at its corner.

As the chair is opened, the wrap-around links 24 whose upper integralportions are designed to seat themselves around the leg portions of therear leg frame, firmly grasp the convex surfaces 48 of the offset legsupports and hold immovable the vertical portions of the rear leg frame14, at substantially the same level of the seat frame 12.

As the weight of a chair occupant exerts force, through the wrap-aroundlinks 24, upon the convex surfaces 48 of the offset rear leg supports,the chair becomes more rigid, eliminating sideward sway, thus having thecharacteristics of a rigid, non-foldable chair.

The seat and back fabric 50 is folded over at their respective ends andsewn as to form a loop, to accommodate its supporting tubular member. Itwill be noted that anti-fiber washers have been positioned at all pivotpoints to eliminate wear and provide clearance between frame members tofacilitate folding.

The tubular rear leg support frame 14 is crimped on the inside of thevertical portions of said frame at points above the offsets, to allowclearance of screw heads. The lower ends of the front legs 16 havesuitable ribbon or plastic tips 52 placed thereon to provide a trimappearance and to prevent the marring of any floor finish. Suitableflanges 54 are inserted into the ends of the lateral front leg support18 and into the forward ends of the seat frame 12, to provide a finishedappearance.

The chair is folded substantially fiat by pressing the top of the backrest frame 10 forward. This movement disengages the Wrap-around links 24from the vertical rear legs support 14 and brings the rear leg support14 into contact with the front legs 16. The chair is now compact andready for storing. It will be readily ap' w Patented Oct. 25,- 19 60parent from the foregoing description of the improved folding chair thatthe novel method of construction used herein contributes toward adurable, rigid and safe folded chair.

Although I have described my invention with a certain degree ofparticularity, the present disclosure has been made by way of example,and the various other details of construction and a combination andarrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the scopeof the invention as hereinafter claimed.

What is claimed is:

A folding chair comprising in combination, a pair of arm rests, a pairof front legs pivotally connected to the forward portion of said armrests, a back connected to the rear portion of said arm rests, a pair ofrear legs pivotally connected to said back rest and said arm rests, aseat frame pivotally connected at its forward end to said front legs andhaving a pivoted connection at its rear end to the lower end of back, apair of flat formed displaceable links formed with transversesemi-cylindrical extensions, one end of each of said links pivotableabout said pivoted connection and disposed between said seat frame andone of said rear legs, the other end of each of said links pivoted tosaid legs inwardly thereof at a predetermined point spaced below saidback rest, each of said semi-cylindrical extensions engaging each ofsaid rear legs when said chair is in open position to prevent lateraldisplacement of said rear legs.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS195,549 Wakefield Sept. 25, 1-877 2,203,076 Baxter June 4, 19402,213,590 Parry Sept. 3, 1940 2,638,970 Harber May 19, 1953 2,709,481Budai May 31, 1955 2,812,801 Heyman Nov. 12, 1957 2,837,140 Hedman June3,1958

